The ORIP Shared Instrument Grant (SIG)
program encourages applications from groups of NIH-supported investigators to
purchase or upgrade a single item of expensive, specialized, commercially
available instrumentation or an integrated system that costs at least
$100,000. The maximum award is $600,000. Types of instruments supported
include, but are not limited to, confocal and electron microscopes,
biomedical imagers, mass spectrometers, DNA sequencers, biosensors,
cell-sorters, X-ray diffraction systems, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)
spectrometers among others.

Key Dates

Posted Date

January 15, 2014

Open Date (Earliest Submission Date)

February 21, 2014

Letter of Intent Due Date(s)

Not Applicable

Application Due Date(s)

March 21, 2014, by 5:00 PM local time of applicant
organization.

Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate
time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the
submission process by the due date.

AIDS Application Due Date(s)

Not Applicable

Scientific Merit Review

June 2014 and November, 2014

Advisory Council Review

October 2014 and January 2015

Earliest Start Date

April 1, 2015

Expiration Date

March 22, 2014

Due Dates for E.O. 12372

Not Applicable

Required Application Instructions

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in
the SF424
(R&R) Application Guide, except where instructed to do otherwise (in
this FOA or in a Notice from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts).
Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the FOA)
is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all
application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any
program-specific instructions noted in Section
IV. When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the
Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions. Applications that
do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

The purpose of this funding
opportunity is to continue the Shared Instrumentation Grant (SIG) Program
currently administered by ORIP. The objective of the program is to make
available to institutions expensive research instruments that can only be
justified on a shared-use basis and that are needed for NIH-supported projects
in basic, translational or clinical areas of biomedical/behavioral research.
The SIG program provides funds to purchase or upgrade a single item of
expensive, specialized, commercially available instrumentation or an integrated
instrument system. An integrated instrument system is one in which the
components, when used in conjunction with one another, perform a function that
no single component could provide. The components must be dedicated to the
system and not used independently. Increase in productivity or efficiency is
not sufficient justification for an integrated system. Applicants are advised
to contact SIG Scientific/Research Contact (See Section VII) prior to
submitting an application for an integrated instrument system. Instruments must
be for research purposes only. Foreign made equipment is allowable. Applicants
should contact a Scientific/Research Contact with any questions about
eligibility of specific instrument requests prior to preparing an application.

This program is designed to provide funding for the
acquisition or updating of expensive shared-use instrumentation not generally
available through other NIH mechanisms, such as the regular research project,
program project, or center grant programs. Applications for research on
advancing the design or for the development of new instrumentation are not
appropriate for this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA).

Types of supported instrumentation include, but are not
limited to, nuclear magnetic resonance systems, electron and confocal
microscopes, mass spectrometers, protein and DNA sequencers, biosensors, x-ray
diffractometers, cell sorters, and NMR spectrometers. Applications for
"stand alone" computer systems (supercomputers, computer clusters and
storage systems) will only be considered if the instrument is solely dedicated
to the research needs of a broad community of NIH-supported investigators.

The SIG program will not support requests for:

the development of new instrumentation;

general purpose equipment or purely instructional equipment;

instruments used for clinical (billable) care;

an instrument with a base cost of less than $100,000;

multiple instruments bundled together to meet the $100,000
minimum;

a series of complementary related instruments which share a
common research focus;

an assortment of instruments to furnish a research facility;

software, unless it is integral to the operation of a piece of
equipment;

Questions about appropriate equipment should be directed to
the Scientific/Research contacts (See Section
VII.

The Major user group of the instrument must have a minimum
of three Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PDs/PIs)with NIH
research grants with one of the following activity codes: P01, R01, U01, R35,
R37, DP1 or DP2. NIH-supported users should together require 75% of the
instrument time. For detailed eligibility requirements of the Major and Minor
User Groups, see (section III 3).

To promote cost effectiveness, to encourage optimal sharing
among individual investigators, research groups and departments, and to foster
a collaborative multidisciplinary environment, the instrument should be
integrated in a centralized core facility, whenever possible.

Each applicant institution must propose a PD/PI who can
assume administrative/scientific oversight responsibility for the requested
instrumentation. See Section III 1 for
qualifications for the PD/PI. An Advisory Committee must be named to assist the
PD/PI in administering the grant and overseeing the usage of the instrument. For
details on the composition of the Advisory Committee, see Section IV 2 under
"Administration." The PD/PI and the Advisory Committee are
responsible for the development of guidelines for:

Maximum utilization of the instrument, including time allocation;

A detailed plan for the day-to-day management and safe operation
of the instrument;

If appropriate, a plan to ensure that access to the instrument is
limited to users whose projects have received approval from institutional human
subjects, animal welfare or biosafety committees;

A financial plan for the long term operation and maintenance of
the instrument during the post award period;

Considering and recommending to the NIH the relocation of the
instrument within or outside the institution or changes of ownership, if such
changes are necessary.

Working with the Institution on recommendation to the NIH to name
a new PD/PI if such a need arises due to the departure of the current PD/PI.

The PD/PI also will be responsible for:

Requesting no-cost extensions of the project period, if needed.

Preparing (and working with the Institution to submit) a Final
Progress Report at the end of the project period, that describes the purchased
instrument, a list of all users and publications resulting from use of the
instrument, and a description of the value of the instrument to the
investigators and to the institution as a whole. See Section VI.3.

Submitting Annual Equipment Usage Reports to the NIH for a period
of four years after the final progress report. See Section VI.3.

Section II. Award Information

Funding Instrument

Grant: A support mechanism providing money, property, or
both to an eligible entity to carry out an approved project or activity.

Application Types Allowed

New
Resubmission

The OER
Glossary and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide provide details on
these application types.

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards

Although the financial plans of ORIP provide support for
this program, awards pursuant to this funding opportunity are contingent upon
the availability of funds and the receipt of a sufficient number of
meritorious applications.

ORIP intends to commit approximately $40 million in FY2015
to fund approximately 80 new awards.

Award Budget

Applications will be accepted that request a single,
commercially available instrument or integrated system which costs at least
$100,000. There is no upper limit on the cost of the instrument, but the
maximum award is $600,000. Since the cost of the various instruments will
vary, it is anticipated that the size of the award also will vary.

Award Project Period

Awards are made for one year only.

NIH grants policies as
described in the NIH Grants
Policy Statement will apply to the
applications submitted and awards made in response to this FOA.

Section III. Eligibility
Information

1. Eligible Applicants

Eligible Organizations

Higher Education Institutions

Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education

Private Institutions of Higher Education

The following types of Higher Education Institutions
are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private
Institutions of Higher Education:

Under the general research support authority of Section
301(a) (3) of the Public Health Service Act, Shared Instrumentation Grant
awards are made to public and non-profit domestic institutions only. These
institutions include health professional schools, other academic institutions,
hospitals, health departments, and research organizations. Federal
institutions, foreign institutions, and for-profit institutions are not
eligible to apply. A Federal institution is defined by the NIH as a
Cabinet-level department or independent agency of the executive branch of the
Federal Government or any component organization of such a department or
agency.

Foreign Institutions

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are
not eligible to apply.
Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible
to apply.

Applicant organizations must complete and maintain the
following registrations as described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide
to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. All registrations must be
completed prior to the application being submitted. Registration can take 6
weeks or more, so applicants should begin the registration process as soon as
possible. The NIH
Policy on Late Submission of Grant Applications states that failure to
complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a
late submission.

Dun and Bradstreet
Universal Numbering System (DUNS) - All registrations require that
applicants be issued a DUNS number. After obtaining a DUNS number, applicants
can begin both SAM and eRA Commons registrations. The same DUNS number must be
used for all registrations, as well as on the grant application.

System for Award Management (SAM) (formerly CCR) – Applicants must complete and maintain an active registration, which requires renewal at least
annually. The renewal process may require as much time as the
initial registration. SAM registration includes the assignment of a Commercial
and Government Entity (CAGE) Code for domestic organizations which have not
already been assigned a CAGE Code.

eRA Commons - Applicants
must have an active DUNS number and SAM registration in order to complete the
eRA Commons registration. Organizations can register with the eRA Commons as
they are working through their SAM or Grants.gov registration. eRA Commons
requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at
least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to
submit an application.

Grants.gov – Applicants
must have an active DUNS number and SAM registration in order to complete the
Grants.gov registration.

Program
Directors/Principal Investigators (PD(s)/PI(s))

All PD(s)/PI(s) must have an eRA Commons account and should
work with their organizational officials to either create a new account or to
affiliate an existing account with the applicant organization’s eRA Commons
account. If the PD/PI is also the organizational Signing Official, they must
have two distinct eRA Commons accounts, one for each role. Obtaining an eRA
Commons account can take up to 2 weeks.

Eligible Individuals (Program Director/Principal
Investigator)

Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources
necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal
Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) is invited to work with his/her organization to
develop an application for support. Individuals from underrepresented racial
and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always
encouraged to apply for NIH support.

The PD/PI need not be an NIH grantee, but must be affiliated with the applicant
institution and registered on the eRA Commons.

Applications will be accepted that request funds to purchase
or upgrade a single, commercially-available instrument or integrated instrument
system which costs at least $100,000. There is no restriction on the number of
applications an institution can submit to the SIG program each year provided
the applications request different types of equipment. However, if two or more
applications are submitted for similar equipment (for example, two 600 MHz NMR
spectrometers) from the same institution, documentation from a high level
institutional official must be provided stating that this is not an unintended
duplication, but part of a campus wide institutional plan. A single application
requesting more than one type of instrumentation (for example, a mass
spectrometer and a confocal microscope or a new NMR and an upgrade to an
existing NMR) is not appropriate for this FOA.

NIH will not accept any application that is essentially the
same as one already reviewed within the past thirty-seven months (as described
in the NIH
Grants Policy Statement), except for submission:

To an RFA of an application that was submitted previously as an
investigator-initiated application but not paid;

Of an investigator-initiated application that was originally
submitted to an RFA but not paid; or

Of an application with a changed grant activity code.

Determination
of New Application Status: A new application is expected to be
substantially different in content and scope with more significant differences
than are normally encountered in a resubmitted application. For S10 applications,
there must be a substantial change in more than one critical aspect of the
application, which may include a change in the composition of major or minor
users due to a change in instrumentation needs or NIH grant support, inclusion
of new preliminary data for several users, specific documented changes in
institutional commitment or changes in technical expertise and the
administrative/management structure.

Major and
Minor User Groups

A Major User group of three or more investigators who are
Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PDs/PIs) on three distinct
active NIH research grants with the following activity codes, P01, R01, U01,
R35, R37, DP1, or DP2 must be identified. Once this eligibility requirement has
been met, additional users with active NIH research grants can be added as
Major or Minor Users (this includes, but is not limited to PDs/PIs of R00, R03,
R21, R55, P30, P41, P50 awards). Major Users should have substantial interests
in and needs for the instrument. PDs/PIs of NIH training grants and contracts
are not eligible to be Major or Minor Users in the application unless they
qualify through funding of one of the mechanisms described above. Investigators
with funding from sources such as other federal agencies (e.g., NSF, DoE, DoD),
private foundations or academic institutions can be added as Minor Users
provided they are engaged in basic, translational or clinical areas of
biomedical/behavioral research. To demonstrate the clear need for the requested
instrumentation, the projects supported by NIH research grants should together
require at least 75 percent of the instrument time. The Major User group should
require at least 35 percent of the total usage time.

Major Users can be researchers within the same department or
from several departments at the applicant institution. Awardees from other
nearby institutions may also be included.

Access to the instrument may be made available to other
users upon the advice of the Advisory Committee. These other users need not be
NIH awardees, but priority should be given to NIH-supported scientists engaged
in biomedical/behavioral research.

Section IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Requesting an
Application Package

Applicants must download the SF424 (R&R) application
package associated with this funding opportunity using the “Apply for Grant
Electronically” button in this FOA or following the directions provided at Grants.gov.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in
the SF424
(R&R) Application Guide, except where instructed in this funding
opportunity announcement to do otherwise. Conformance to the requirements in
the Application Guide is required and strictly enforced. Applications that are
out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for
review.

All page limitations described in the SF424 Application
Guide and the Table of
Page Limits must be followed, with the following exceptions or additional
requirements:

For this FOA, there
is no overall page limit for the entire Instrumentation
Plan. However, there are specified page limits for each section
of the Instrumentation Plan as described below. The sections cannot exceed the
page limit including tables, graphs, figures, diagrams, and charts. Although
there is no overall page limit, applicants are reminded to be informative yet
succinct. It is expected that the length of the Plan’s narrative will depend
on the type of the requested instrument and the number of users. An application
to be successful does not have to reach the page limits described here.

Introduction
to Resubmission: 3 pages (if applicable)

Justification
of Need: 6 pages in total

Technical
Expertise: 3 pages in total

Research
Projects section must not exceed 30 pages in total. This section should be divided
into two subsections: Research Projects of Major Users and Research Projects of
Minor Users. The limit is 6 pages per Major User; however, three or fewer pages
are STRONGLY recommended. The applicant will allocate the total number of up to
30 pages between the two subsections.

Summary
Table(s): 6 pages in total

Administration
(Organizational / Management Plan): 6 pages in total

Institutional
Commitment: 3 pages in total

Overall
Benefit: 3 pages in total

Note: Letters of Support and
Bibliography & References Cited Section are not included in the page
limitations.

Required and Optional Components

The forms package associated with this FOA includes all
applicable components, required and optional. Please note that some components
marked optional in the application package are required for submission of
applications for this FOA. Follow all instructions in the SF424 (R&R)
Application Guide to ensure you complete all appropriate “optional” components.

Instructions
for Application Submission

The following section supplements the instructions found in
the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and should be used for preparing an
application to this FOA.

SF424(R&R) Cover

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide
must be followed.

Descriptive
Title: Enter the generic name ofthe instrument requested in the title
(for example, 600MHz NMR Spectrometer or High Throughput DNA Sequencer).

Proposed
Project: Enter start date of 04/01/2014 and end date of
03/31/2015.

Estimated
Project Funding:

Total
Federal Funds Requested: Enter the total Federal funds for the
requested instrument.

This entry cannot exceed $600.000 which is the maximum award
under the SIG Program. If the cost of the instrument is more than $600,000
enter $600,000 (or any lower amount of the requested Federal Funds).

Total
Non-Federal Funds: If Total Federal Funds Requested (described
immediately above) and Total Federal & Non-Federal Funds (described
immediately below) are not the same, enter the difference in this line. Explain
how the difference will be paid in the Equipment section on the SF424 (R&R)
Other Project Information component (described below).

Total
Federal & Non-Federal Funds: Enter the total cost of the
instrument from the quote.

Program
Income: Enter zero for as does not apply to the SIG Program.

NOTE: A warning will be generated during submission for any
S10 with a budget in excess of $500,000. This warning can be ignored.

SF424(R&R) Project/Performance Site Locations

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide
must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Other Project Information

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide
must be followed.

Project
Summary/Abstract: The Project Summary/Abstract is meant to
serve as a succinct and accurate description of the requested instrument and
the research projects which will be supported by the instrument. State the
application’s broad, long-term objectives, concisely describing the research
design and methods for achieving the health-related goals of the research projects.
This section should be informative to other persons working in the same or
related fields and understandable to a scientifically or technically literate
reader.

NOTE: The Project Summary/Abstract must be no longer than 30
lines of text.

Project
Narrative: Using no more than two or three sentences, describe
the relevance of this research to public health. In this section be succinct
and use plain language that can be understood by a general, lay audience.

Bibliography
& References Cited: Users should list only these
publications that demonstrate the users' expertise in operation and
applications of the requested instrumentation or are relevant to research
projects which will be supported by the instrument. References of the research
project narratives of Major and Minor Users may appear in this section under
each user's name or users may list such references at the end of their
individual research sections.

Facilities
& Other Resources: Not Applicable. Do not include an
attachment here.

Equipment: Describe the requested instrument, including manufacturer and
model number. The model chosen should be justified by comparing its performance
with other available instruments, when appropriate. Such comparisons should
include preliminary data using the protocols or types of samples proposed by
users when possible. Specific features and any accessories should be justified,
both in this section and in the description of research projects. Each such
accessory must be utilized by at least half of the Major Users. All accessories
and components (in particular, if an integrated system is requested) must be
dedicated to the system and not used independently. Provide a detailed budget
breakdown of the main instrument and accessories requested, including tax and import
duties, if applicable. An itemized quote, with appropriate discount, from a
vendor is required. The quote must be scanned and combined in a single
attachment with the equipment description as part of this upload. As described
above in SF424 Cover Component, include an explanation of Total Non-Federal
Funds in this section (if applicable). If human or infectious materials, which
could create a potential biohazard, are to be analyzed, funds for accessory
containment equipment for the instrument may be requested in the budget. In
this case, a signed letter from the institutional biosafety committee stating
that they have reviewed the proposed containment plan and that the plan adheres
to documented biosafety regulations is required in the application, and must be
scanned and uploaded in the Other Attachments (described immediately below).

Other
Attachments: Instrumentation Plan (in lieu of Research Plan
section). The entire Instrumentation Plan (with the sections described below)
must be saved as a single pdf (named Instrumentation Plan) and attached via the
Other Attachments. Organize the Instrumentation Plan in the specified order
(described below) starting each section with the appropriate section heading
(i.e. Justification of Need, Technical Expertise, Research Projects etc.). Do
not include links to websites for further information. Do not include
animations. Incomplete applications or applications which do not follow the SIG
program policies described in this Funding Opportunity Announcement will not be
reviewed.

Introduction: Only in the case of a resubmission, include an
Introduction describing the changes that have been made in response to comments
in the previous review.

Justification of Need: Describe the requested instrument. Provide
an inventory of similar instruments existing at the applicant’s institution,
neighboring research institutions, or otherwise accessible; describe why they
are unavailable or inappropriate for the proposed research. Provide a clear
justification for why new or updated equipment, including accessories, are
needed. Include specific documentation on the current usage and downtime of
existing instruments and a realistic estimate of the projected usage for the
requested instrument. Such documentation should be expressed as hours of use,
setup time, etc., per day or week, not simply as percentage of available time.
Be specific and quantitative; define available usage time. Use of tables may
clarify the presentation. Tables included within this section will count
towards the specified page limit.

Technical Expertise: Describe the technical expertise present at
the institution to set up, run and maintain the instrument. Specify who will
operate the instrument, train new users, ensure that it is operated safely and
appropriately maintained.

Research Projects: Divide this section into two subsections:
Research Projects of Major Users and Research Projects of Minor Users.

All Major
Users must have active NIH support and substantial need for the requested
instrument. Detailed eligibility requirements for Major Users is described in Section III 3. Since the projects have
been previously peer reviewed, the project descriptions should be concise and
the focus of the section should be directed to the specific benefits that the
acquisition of the instrument will have on the research objectives of each
user. The section describing such specific benefits to the research should be
designated with its own subtitle. Describe the impact of the new instrument on
the present and future research objectives of the user. Sufficient technical
detail (preliminary data and/or supplemental information) about the specific
types of samples or specific experimental protocols to be employed by each user
for the requested instrument should be included to allow evaluation of whether
the instrument is appropriate, would be effectively employed, and would provide
advantages over other methods and other similar existing or new instruments.
The need for special features and accessories for the requested instrument must
be justified. Individual project investigators that require a specific option
or upgrade (e.g., a UV laser) should describe the specific studies that utilize
this option. At least half of the all Major Users should need any of these
options.

Minor
Users are additional users with active NIH research grants or active grants
from other sources. Eligibility information for Minor Users is described in Section III 3. Include a brief summary
of the research related to the need for the requested instrument.

Summary
Table(s): Use a table to list the names (last, first) of the Major and Minor
Users from the Research Projects section, the complete NIH grant numbers (e.g.
5R01HL123451-01A1), brief titles of the projects, grant start and end dates,
and the estimated percentage of use. If there are multiple Major or Minor Users
funded by the same grant, clearly indicate their names and their total
estimated percentage of use of the instrument for projects supported by that
grant. Make a separate table to indicate the users’ needs for any requested
accessories. (These summary tables do not count towards the designed page
limitation of the Research Projects section).

Administration (Organizational/Management Plan): Describe the
organizational plan to administer the grant. Include how the instrument will be
utilized, how requests to use the instrument will be made, how time will be
allocated among Major and Minor Users, and plans for attracting new users. List
the names and titles of the members of the local Advisory Committee. The
membership of this Committee should be broad, to balance interests of different
users and should include members without conflicts of interest (non-users of
the requested instrument) who can resolve disputes if they arise. The
membership of this Committee should include at least one senior institutional
official. Major and Minor, and other active Users of the instrument may be
members, but none may Chair the Advisory Committee. The PD/PI should be a
non-voting member of the Committee. Describe a plan for managing access to the
instrument if users’ projects involve human subjects, vertebrate animals or
biohazards such as infectious materials. Submit a specific financial plan for
long-term operation and maintenance of the instrument. Explain how various
operational costs will be met; specifically, costs associated with routine
operation of the instrument, the maintenance, support personnel, and service
costs associated with effective use of the instrument must be described. The
financial plan MUST include a table for year one of operation with approximate
dollars for anticipated expenditures and anticipated income showing how these
estimates were derived. Include a description of the projected financial plan
changes over the subsequent four years:

Operation:
Include salary support of expert personnel to operate the instrument and provide
its routine care and standardization.

Maintenance:
May include a service contract, or funds for local technical personnel (and
parts) who will maintain the instrument if such personnel are qualified to do
so.

Supplies:
Necessary supplies for operating the instrument such as chemicals, cryogenics,
and other expendable items.

Anticipated
Income: Enumerate the sources of income such as charge back fee structure,
grants, or institutional support. Specific dollars are required.

Institutional Commitment: Describe the institutional
infrastructure available to support the instrumentation. In this section,
confirm that the institution will commit to provide backup of the financial
plan for for five years from installation of the equipment or for the
effective lifetime of the instrument. The PD/PI, upon recommendations and
approval of the Advisory Committee, may request permission from the NIH for any
future changes to this commitment due to unforeseen alterations in the use of
the instrument (i.e., transfer of title to another institution, trade-in
towards a more advanced instrument, etc.). The review panel will evaluate the
time of institutional support of the financial plan for this instrument in
terms of consistency with the expected usable lifetime for the instrument
dependent upon the type of instrument requested. Provide a short descriptive
narrative of the institution's summary of instrument performance of all
previous S10 awards to the institution for instruments awarded or installed
within the last five years. See Letters of Support section for details to be
provided in that section by the institution.

Overall Benefit: Explain how the instrument will impact NIH
funded research and contribute to the institution’s long-range biomedical
research goals

Letters of Support. Letters from institutional officials (mentioned
in Institutional Commitment) and letters from the biosafety committee
(mentioned in Equipment) should be combined in a single file named Letters of
Support and uploaded as a separate attachment via Other Attachments. In
particular, the institution must provide an official letter of support that
includes an explicit commitment to provide backup for the proposed financial
plan. Specifically, the letter must state that if the financial plan should
fall short of its projected income, the institution will commit funds to
replace the shortfall and maintain operation of the instrument. Applications
without an institutional commitment to support a shortfall in the financial
plan will not be accepted for review The institution must also provide a
Letter of Support that includes a table that provides information about
instrument performance of all previous S10 awards for instruments awarded or
installed within the past five years. The table should include: S10 grant
number, year of award, PD/PI’s name, generic name of instrument, current
instrument status (i.e., in use, traded-in, transferred, non-functional),
approximate hours used per year, status of maintenance agreement, and number of
publications citing the S10 award. If the instrument is currently non-functional,
the institution must provide a supplementary explanatory text.

SF424(R&R) Senior/Key Person Profile

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide
must be followed.

Include profiles of the Program Director(s)/Principal
Investigator(s), the Major Users, and the technical person(s) responsible for
the maintenance and operation of the instrument. For the Major Users, select
“Other” under Project Role. Then complete the Other Project Role Category by
inserting Major User. For technical person(s), select “Technician” for Project
Role field. Follow the instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide
for Additional Senior/Key Person Profile(s) if there are more than 8 Major
Users.

NOTE: Current and Pending Support. Since Just-in-Time does
not apply to the S10 mechanism, this FOA requires current and pending support
for the Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s), each Major User and/or
technician at the time of application submission. Follow the format provided in
Other Support section of the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide (Part III.
Section 1.8. Other Support.)

PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide
must be followed.

3. Submission Dates and
Times

Part I. Overview Information contains information about Key Dates. Applicants are encouraged to submit applications
before the due date to ensure they have time to make any application
corrections that might be necessary for successful submission.

Organizations must submit applications to Grants.gov (the online portal to find and apply for grants
across all Federal agencies). Applicants must then complete the submission
process by tracking the status of the application in the eRA Commons, NIH’s electronic system for grants
administration. NIH and Grants.gov systems check the application against many
of the application instructions upon submission. Errors must be corrected and a
changed/corrected application must be submitted to Grants.gov on or before the application
due date. If a Changed/Corrected application is submitted after the deadline,
the application will be considered late.

Applicants
are responsible for viewing their application before the due date in the eRA
Commons to ensure accurate and successful submission.

Information on the submission process and a definition of
on-time submission are provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

Under the S10 mechanism, funding requests are limited to the
purchase cost of the instrument only. Support for technical personnel, service
contracts, extended warranties, and supplies are not allowable. Cost sharing
towards purchase of the instrument is not required. If the amount of funds
requested does not cover the total cost of the instrument, the application
should describe the proposed source(s) of funding for the balance of the cost
of the instrument. Documentation of the availability of the remainder of
funding, signed by an appropriate institutional official, must be presented to
ORIP prior to issuance of award.

The program does not provide facilities and administrative
(F&A) costs or support for construction or alterations or renovations.
Matching funds are not required. However, commitment of an appropriate level of
institutional support to ensure the associated sustaining infrastructure is
expected and should be described. Appropriate Grants will be awarded for a
period of one year and are not renewable. Supplemental applications will not be
accepted.

Applicants proposing purchase of an instrument that the
institution is planning to lease prior to award are urged to consult with their
institutional sponsored projects office and the NIH Grant Management Office
regarding applicable NIH policy prior to executing the leasing agreement. If
the leasing agreement was executed more than one year prior to submission of
the SIG application, the applicant must provide strong justification for the
requested Federal funds. This justification must demonstrate that the leased
instrument is considered state-of-the-art at the time of submission —
appropriate award adjustments may be necessary. Execution of a purchase order
or agreement, making a down payment or other formal commitment to purchase the
equipment prior to award will automatically eliminate an applicant from
eligibility for an award.

6. Other Submission
Requirements and Information

Applications must be submitted electronically following the
instructions described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide. Paper applications will not be accepted.

For assistance with your electronic application or for more information on the electronic submission
process, visit Applying
Electronically.

Important
reminders:All PD(s)/PI(s) must include their eRA Commons ID in the
Credential fieldof the Senior/Key Person Profile Component of the
SF424(R&R) Application Package. Failure to register in the Commons
and to include a valid PD/PI Commons ID in the credential field will prevent
the successful submission of an electronic application to NIH. See Section III of this FOA for information on
registration requirements.

The applicant organization must ensure that the DUNS number it provides on the
application is the same number used in the organization’s profile in the eRA
Commons and for the System for Award Management. Additional information may be
found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for
completeness by the Center for Scientific Review, NIH. Applications that are
incomplete will not be reviewed.

Post Submission Materials

Applicants are required to follow the instructions for
post-submission materials, as described in NOT-OD-13-030.

Section V. Application Review Information

1.
Criteria

Only the review criteria described below will be considered
in the review process. As part of the NIH mission,
all applications submitted to the NIH in support of biomedical and behavioral
research are evaluated for scientific and technical merit through the NIH peer
review system.

Overall
Impact/Benefit

Reviewers will briefly assess the potential benefit of the
requested instrument for the overall research community and its potential
impact on NIH-funded research; and provide comments on the overall need of the
users which led to their final recommendation and an overall impact/priority
score.

Scored Review
Criteria

Reviewers will consider each of the review criteria below in
the determination of scientific merit, and give a separate score for each. An
application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to
have major scientific impact. For example, a project that by its nature is not
innovative may be essential to advance a field.

Justification of Need

Is the need for the instrument clearly and adequately
justified? Is the equipment essential and appropriate? Justification of
selection of proposed instrument may include but is not limited to comparison
with other available instruments of similar function.

Technical Expertise

Does the institution have the technical expertise to
make effective use of the requested equipment? How well qualified are the
participating investigators or other assigned personnel to operate and maintain
the instrument, conduct the projects, and evaluate the research results? How
will new users be trained? How will biosafety procedures be implemented?

Research Projects

Will research with the requested instrument advance
the knowledge and understanding of the proposed projects? How will the research
projects of individual Users be enhanced? Do Users adequately justify the
requested instrument for the needs of their specific projects? If accessories
are requested for the instrument, do at least half of the Major Users require
each of the accessories for their research projects?

Administration

Is the plan for the management and maintenance of the
requested instrument appropriate? Is the membership of the Advisory Committee
broadly based to oversee the use of the instrument for a wide range of
biomedical investigators, to balance interests of different users, and to
resolve disputes (if they arise)? How will research time be allocated among the
projects? Are the sharing arrangements equitable? If needed, are the policies
to manage projects which have human subjects, animals or biohazards adequate?
Is the financial plan for the instrument for five years or the expected
lifetime of the instrument reasonable and secured, balancing anticipated
expenditures and anticipated income? Is the expected usable lifetime of the
instrument reasonable?

Institutional Commitment

Did the Institution provide the required letter of
commitment to back-up the submitted financial plan in the event of a shortfall
of income? Is the institutional commitment to back-up the financial plan
provided for a time period consistent with the expected effective lifetime of
the requested instrument? The institutional commitment to the specific
financial plan for operation and maintenance of the instrument may include, but
is not limited to, support of maintenance contracts, preparation and
maintenance of the installation site, contribution to the costs of the
operating staff, and any other financial contribution towards the support and
acquisition of the instrument. Has the institution provided the required “Letter
of Support” table listing previous S10 instruments awarded and installed within
the past five years? Is the management of awarded S10 instruments adequate?

Additional Review Criteria

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will
evaluate the following additional items while determining scientific and
technical merit, and in providing an overall impact score, but will not give
separate scores for these items.

Protections for Human Subjects

Generally Not Applicable. Reviewers should bring any
concerns to the attention of the Scientific Review Officer.

Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and
Children

Generally Not Applicable. Reviewers should bring any
concerns to the attention of the Scientific Review Officer.

Vertebrate Animals

Generally not applicable. Reviewers should bring any
concerns to the attention of the Scientific Review Officer

Biohazards

Reviewers will assess whether materials or procedures
proposed are potentially hazardous to research personnel and/or the
environment, and if needed, determine whether adequate protection is proposed.

Resubmissions

For Resubmissions, the committee will evaluate the
application as now presented, taking into consideration the responses to
comments from the previous scientific review group and changes made to the
project.

Renewals

Not Applicable

Revisions

Not Applicable

Additional Review Considerations

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will
consider each of the following items, but will not give scores for these items,
and should not consider them in providing an overall impact score.

Applications from Foreign
Organizations

Not Applicable

Select Agent Research

Reviewers will assess the information provided in
this section of the application, including 1) the Select Agent(s) to be used in
the proposed research, 2) the registration status of all entities where Select
Agent(s) will be used, 3) the procedures that will be used to monitor
possession use and transfer of Select Agent(s), and 4) plans for appropriate
biosafety, biocontainment, and security of the Select Agent(s).

Resource Sharing Plans

Not Applicable

Budget and Period of Support

Reviewers will consider whether the budget and the
requested period of support are fully justified and reasonable in relation to
the proposed research.

2. Review and Selection
Process

Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical
merit by (an) appropriate Scientific Review Group(s) convened by the CSR, in
accordance with NIH peer
review policy and procedures, using the stated review
criteria. Assignment to a Scientific Review Group will be shown in the eRA
Commons.

As part of the scientific peer review, all applications:

May undergo a selection process in which only those applications
deemed to have the highest scientific and technical merit (generally the top
half of applications under review) will be discussed and assigned an overall impact
score.

Will receive a written critique.

Applications will be assigned to the appropriate NIH
Institute or Center. Applications will compete for available funds with all
other recommended applications submitted in response to this FOA. Following
initial peer review, recommended applications will receive a second level of
review by the appropriate national Advisory Council or Board. The following
will be considered in making funding decisions:

Scientific and technical merit of the proposed project as
determined by scientific peer review.

Availability of funds.

Relevance of the proposed project to program priorities.

Program balance among various types of instruments supported and
geographic distribution of awards.

3. Anticipated Announcement
and Award Dates

After the peer review of the application is completed, the
PD/PI will be able to access his or her Summary Statement (written critique)
via the eRA
Commons.

A formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA) will be provided
to the applicant organization for successful applications. The NoA signed by
the grants management officer is the authorizing document and will be sent via
email to the grantee’s business official.

Awardees must comply with any funding restrictions described in Section IV.5. Funding Restrictions. Selection
of an application for award is not an authorization to begin performance. Any costs
incurred before receipt of the NoA are at the recipient's risk. These costs may
be reimbursed only to the extent considered allowable pre-award costs.

At the expiration of the grant, a Final Progress Report
(FPR) is required that describes the instrument purchased, and a list of all
users and description of the value of the instrument to the investigators and
to the institution as a whole. This report is needed by the NIH for informing
the public, administrative and Congressional officials about the research
resources it supports. The following information must be included in the SIG
FPR:

Information about the award and the instrument:

Grant
Number: 1S10OD#####-01

Principal
Investigator: (Name, Institution, Department, Address)

Funding
Period

Name of
Instrument (including manufacturer and model)

Total
Purchase Cost

Total SIG
Award Amount

Other
Sources of Funding (if appropriate)

Describe the SIG instrument purchased, its usage and its
impact on the research community, specifically the NIH funded users. Use a
summary table to list the names of the current major users (last, first), the
complete NIH grant numbers (e.g. 5R01HL123456-01A1), brief titles of the
projects and the percentage of use.

Describe the administration, operation, and plans for the
maintenance of the instrument including the status of the current financial
plan.

Describe (in language understandable to the lay public) any
research accomplishments resulting from the use of the instrumentation. Explain
the developments in terms of their contributions to new knowledge and potential
for the improvement of human health. Provide a list of publications, if
available. Publications must adhere to NIH
Public Access Policy and include PMCID
numbers.

Include any other additional information which you would
consider useful to the NIH.

The SIG FPR must be submitted electronically through the
Closeout module in eRA Commons.

Annual Instrument Usage Report

In addition, for the period of four years after the FPR, on
the anniversaries of the expiration of the award, annual instrument usage
reports must be provided to the NIH. These reports must include:

Information about the award and the instrument:

Grant Number: 1S10OD#####-01

Principal Investigator: (Name, Institution, Department,
Address)

Funding Period

Name of Instrument (including manufacturer and model)

The usage records of the instrument, specifically the name
of the user; number of hours used per year; and the active supporting NIH
grants of the user.

Machine downtime and explanation of any remediation plans.

Any changes in administrative and technical operation of the
equipment from originally described in the application.

Any updates to or modifications of the instrument.

The current status of the financial plan. Has the financial
plan been modified?

Any changes in the institutional support, especially changes
affecting the institutional back-up of the financial plan.

A list of publications and other research reports depending,
in part, on use of the awarded instrument. The publication list should be
consistent with the NIH Public Access
Policy.

Acknowledgments

Any publications and other research reports which arise from
experiments conducted using the instrument must acknowledge the SIG award.

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of
2006 (Transparency Act), includes a requirement for awardees of Federal grants
to report information about first-tier subawards and executive compensation
under Federal assistance awards issued in FY2011 or later. All awardees of
applicable NIH grants and cooperative agreements are required to report to
the Federal Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) available at www.fsrs.gov on all subawards over $25,000. See the NIH Grants
Policy Statement for additional information on this reporting
requirement.

Section VII. Agency Contacts

We encourage inquiries concerning this funding opportunity
and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants.

Awards are made under the authorization of Sections 301 and
405 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 241 and 284) and under
Federal Regulations 42 CFR Part 52 and 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92.